I've seen this question come up in a lot of dog discussion groups, and I thought it might be worth it to make a post about it.
If I had a dog with kennel cough, first of all, I wouldn't be too terribly worried about it. Because every time i've seen a cat or dog come down with it, it always seems to go away in a couple days.
But to speed things up, I would not hesitate to use this on them, because it contains oregano oil, which is used in formulations for humans to help with upper respiratory infections. And it's safe for dogs. I have been using it 43 years and it works fantastic on ticks and fleas, and I honestly think that it might help with things like preventing upper respiratory infections. I would use it on their fur because I know that they would lick a lot of it off.
But in addition, I might use a dropper of it and squirt, maybe half a teaspoon into their mouth. I make it at home and taste it to make sure it's spicy but does not burn.
I finally got around to asking ChatGPT. Why it is that oregano oil is used for upper respiratory formulations, and this is a link to the chatgpt discussion i just had:
I asked:
I've seen that oregano oil is sometimes used in herbal formulations for upper respiratory conditions, and i'm wondering if you can explain why
Their answer:
Symptom relief: Reducing inflammation, irritation, or coughing could make a sore throat feel better quickly.
Antimicrobial treatment: Actually reducing the infection enough to shorten or stop an illness is a separate claim that requires different clinical evidence.
The evidence for oregano's laboratory antimicrobial activity is substantially stronger than the evidence that taking oregano oil cures human respiratory infections. And concentrated essential oil can irritate or burn sensitive tissues; swallowing undiluted essential oil or inhaling oil droplets can be hazardous.
Given your interest in why sore-throat symptoms sometimes disappear so rapidly, I think the most interesting research question is whether carvacrol produces fast symptom relief primarily through local anti-inflammatory or sensory effects, rather than directly killing a virus.
That's an important distinction—and one worth investigating further.
When I asked them what type of probiotics they would use, this is what they said:
If the dog is seriously ill or immunocompromised, check with a veterinarian before giving live probiotics.
One question: Did this dog receive antibiotics for the kennel cough, or did it recover without them?
That would make a difference in which probiotic I'd prioritize.